A Review of the Research on Notetaking from Lecture: Some New Directions to Investigate.

Dubois, Nelson F.

Rather than presenting another major review on research on notetaking from lecture, the purpose of this document is to synthesize the results of this research and to suggest future research directions. First, the historical roots of the current "notetaking from lecture/review" research paradigm are identified. Second, the research on notetaking from lecture and the processes of review is summarized. Such issues as the relative merits of notetaking versus listening, notetaking versus review, instructor's notes versus students' notes, different levels of review, notetaking efficiency, the teaching of notetaking strategies, and the conditions in a lecture that facilitate good notetaking are delineated. Third, a cognitive information processing model of notetaking is proposed. The model is used to critique the research and to propose new directions for research. The main conclusion of the review is that the research had failed to investigate instructionally relevant variables in ecologically valid contexts. A 55-item reference list is appended. (Author/ABL)